Prima pulsed Nd:YAG laser drills deeper holes

Prima has announced the latest model of the Convergent Lasers CL-R pulsed Nd:YAG laser for drilling and cutting applications.

‘This next-generation laser was designed to be an in-place replacement for the JK704 lasers used by Laserdyne Systems customers around the world,’ according to Terry L VanderWert, president of Prima North America.

‘It gives existing Laserdyne system users a replacement option for the JK704, while at the same time providing an upgrade opportunity for increasing the performance of their system,’ he added.

It combines up to 50kW peak power with low divergence resonator optics to produce a high intensity laser spot for: drilling holes up to 75mm (3in) in length; drilling 3mm (0.12in) long holes at 10 holes/second on the fly; and cutting at 300mm (12in)/min or to 20mm (0.8in) in depth.

A long depth of focus enables deep holes to be drilled with reduced taper.

Special pulse-shaping techniques can be used to improve the geometrical quality of holes drilled by single laser shots ‘on the fly’.

When retrofitted the CL-R will be compatible with existing beam delivery hardware and existing software programs, and will operate with existing chillers.

According to Laserdyne, retrofit applications have the potential for increased processing efficiency and lower operating cost, depending on the application, the system’s condition and other factors.

For example, longer life lamps are used in the CL-R laser, which have been reported by users of both lasers to lead to increased shot count before replacement.